Beyond Addiction Redo
by TruRebellion
Summary: Randy Cunningham has always been the type of person to judge a book by its cover despite all the crazy sitaution that's happened because of it. Now, a new girl has come to town with a dark past and a secret, he feels himself realizing that everyone has issues you can't judge. RCxOC *REDO*
1. The Past

_Once there was a girl._

_The girl was pretty normal, in an average kind of way. Her family was that normally rowdy one that would make you glance their way but not think twice about their behavior and she had an appearance that you probably wouldn't look twice at. _

_But there is no such thing as a normal or average person. _

_The girl had really bad luck. Like really, really bad luck. There was the time on her seventh birthday, a stray dog entered her yard and when she tried to stop it, she ended up getting dragged on the ground before smashing straight into the cake. Later that night, her father and her were kidnapped where her father died, no, was murdered right in front of her because he was assumed to be the Ninja. _

_At the time, it made no sense to her. Her and her best friends were obsessed with the Ninja because he was good._

_Why would anyone want kill him?_

_The man kept her for a week and when the police finally found her, she told her family that her father had gotten into some debt because of his gambling problem (he told her that he cheated but her family didn't know) and he ran to keep him safe._

_Her family believed it. Her mother taking it the hardest, locking herself in her room and, through she thought they couldn't hear, cried herself to sleep._

_The girl hated the pain she brought her family but it was for their own safety._

_"I have eyes everywhere, little girl. You say anything about this night, I'll kill you and everyone you love."_

_Oh, how she hated bringing pain on others._

* * *

_Watching as her family packed up their belongings, she quickly got bored, going to walk around the neighborhood, stopping in front of a park._

_She walked to the swings, imagining the laughter of her friends, the cool wind touching the areas of spilled ice cream on favorite blue dress._

_She sat down on the rusted swing, her feet barely touching the ground as tear tracks down her face thanks to the happy memories._

_"'... I'll kill you and everyone you love.' That's what the mean man said, right?"_

_She glanced over to her side, staring at a girl with black hair. "Who are you? Are you stalking me?" The girl shook her head, plopping down in the swing next to her._

_It was silent for a few minutes before the girl broke it. "We could make the mean man pay. Don't you want to make him pay? You can stay with your friends and your family will finally be happy."_

_"How?" She whispered, gripping the chains, feeling the imprints in her hands. The girl got off the swing, standing in front of her._

_"Just take my hand."_

_And she did._

* * *

_The girl was in Japan, five years later, a man with hair as red as fire and eyes as green as grass serving as her sensei._

_She had just beat him in the Ultimate Test, meaning she could never see him again. "My student, my daughter, you are destined to do great things, unlike that poorly trained Ninja." He took a knee, putting a hand on her shoulder while his other hand gripped a necklace tightly. "He will need you need your services for that book of his does nothing." She nodded, her heart contracting tightly as tears pooled in her eyes._

_"Thank you, Maki Con."_

_"No," he said, gripping her shoulder, "thank you."_

* * *

_"Why is everyone always leaving us?"_

_The girl muttered in her pillow as her mother put a warm hand on her back. "Oh sweetie, they aren't leaving us-"_

_Her head shot up. "That's right, we're leaving them! Why are we moving? Didn't we leave to make 'new, better memories'?"_

_"Well you can't always run from the bad ones... Sweetie, I loved your father too and after they... Found his body, it hurt me too. It's okay to feel like giving up but you have to walk through it. Let better things come your way."_

_She glanced into her mom's eyes, seeing the tears shining in her eyes. "I guess you're right..." She leaned forward, hugging her. "I'm sorry..."_

* * *

_"Norrisville!" The girl groaned out, getting out the car while stretching her arms out. "This is the seventh time we moved, I'd think I would be used to it." Most of the time, her family would spend a year on their new home (Amity Park, New York, Japan, etc.) before they ended up moving again._

_She ran a hand through her hair, glancing around the neighborhood before stopping on two boys, mainly the purple-haired. They didn't seem to notice the family of four getting out of the cramped car and they didn't really care._

_She stared at them for a while, a sense of recognition spreading through her. She turned, pulling a bang out of her face as she grabbed her suitcase and walked into the empty house._

* * *

**I don't own Randy Cunninghham or its character. I only on the OCs and the plot.**


	2. Apprecation

Snow drifts towards the brunette, her head covered by a hat that faintly resembled cat ears. Her numb fingers were tangled in her hair in nervousness, watching as everyone joined their friends after a three-week break.

She faintly remembered what her older twin siblings had said before disappering through the highschoolers, saying that they were meeting up with old friends that they had kept in contact with.

The bell rang through the courtyard, cathcing the attention of the students.

_"Nat, just breathe. Highschool isn't as bad as you think." _

_"Yeah, it's worst." _

_"Alan!"_

_"Ow, I'm just kidding sis."_

She clenched her eyes shut, taking a deep breath of icy air before nodding, gaining the cofidence to force her body to move towards the flow of students, practically fading into them.

She walked through the hallways as the students went to their lockers, getting the needed materials or just going to meet up with a friend that they didn't get to do when they were in the courtyard. She even saw a couple making out in the shadows of the lockers.

Holding her digust, she continued to scan the hallways, not noticing that she had was walking straight into another person.

It took her a few seconds to get over the shock but when it she did, she picked up the scattered papers and books, stacking them onto each other while apologizing frantically.

"Hey, it's okay." A male voice said, cutting off her string of, possibly annoying, apologizes.

"No, it's not okay, Cunningham! This girl just crashed into you!" The way the other voice said that made her glance up, peering at a short redhead who's face held a spark of excitement. "I think you should _do_ something about this."

_It's like they haven't been touched by a girl before..._

Her eyes glanced over at the boy she knocked over, her own green orbs meeting sapphire blue ones. As she snapped into real life, she realized he was asking for his books back.

"Ah-"

He cut her off again, probably noticing that she was going to say yet another apology. "Hey, no issue." He took the books she passed to him as she slowly got up, her giving him a hand. "Anyway, my name's Cunningham. Randy Cunningham." He gave her a sly wink causing a huge blush to spread over her face.

"Um, I, ah, I'm Nat."

"No last name, Nat?"

She mentally smacked herself in the face. _Stop embarrassing yourself in front of the cute boy!_ She blushed at her own thoughts. "Sorry, my last name's Walker."

He raised an eyebrow, sharing a glance with the short boy. "Well, I'm Howard, the better one of this small little duo."

She let out a single chuckle, feeling slightly better by Howard's humor... Although she wasn't completely sure if it was meant to be funny. The minute bell rang her head snapping up in panic. "Hey, do either of you know where Mr. Bannister's class is?"

They shared one of their looks again before turning and nodding in unison, reminding her strongly of the devil who had made it a his life goal to make her feel horrible.

"We have him. We can show you." They turned, Howard taking the lead. After a few turns, Randy fell into step with her.

"So, Nat, why are you in Norrisville? Hasn't your family heard about the monster attacks?"

Her steps faltered slightly as she stopped, him taking a few steps before noticing that she had stopped. He turned to see her clenching her hat to her chest, her head bowed down. "H-Hey, I'm sorry! I-"

She let out a chuckle which turned into full-blown laughter, face red, tears falling. "Ran... This could be an interesting friendship." She wiped a stray tear, ignoring Howard's calls for them to hurry up.

He watched her with worry before registering her words. "Huh? Yeah, I guess that could be an odd trio."

"Come on, you shoobs! Mr. Bannister is going to throw his shoe at us!"

She walked forward, past him to a red-faced Howard. "What took you guys so long? Talking about going out on a date already?"

"Ha, I wish! We were talking about you being a major shoob!"

"I am a shoob, I will admit to that."

"What about being a pervert?"

"Never! It ruins my chances with the ladies!"

She burst out laughing as Randy trailed behind them, watching her already get on Howard's good side.

They made it to class right before the bell, them scurrying to their seats as she stood cautiously by the door, her attention stuck on the tall, intimidating teacher.

"Um, hi!" She squeaked out as he slammed the drawer shut on his desk.

He glanced up, giving her a large smile. "You must be the new student." All thier eyed turned to her, who attempted to cower behind the flag post. "Everyone, we have a new student!"

She peeked out from behind the post, squeaking out another greeting. "Come on, introduce yourself."

"Um, I'm Nat Walker."

"Walker? That name reminds me of that little brat who used to egg my house with her two friends."

"Um, I'm sorry if my last name brings up any negative memories." She moved from behind the post and standing up with she could only describe as false courage. "It's very common."

"Hm, please take a seat in between Mr. Cunningham and Ms. Fowler. Those two students, please raise your hand."

Randy and a girl she hadn't met before raised their hands, her going to sit in the free seat between them. She pulled out her old Language Arts notebook and when she realized she was ahead in her other school, just drew pictures of her old new house.

* * *

Her morning classes went by with ease seeing as she was ahead of the other students, not that it bothered her. She enjoyed having free time.

Out of all the seven classes she had, she only had five with Randy and Howard, something else she didn't mind.

Now, it was lunch and, instead of being in cafeteria with the other students, she was wondering the halls, trying to memorize the lay out of the school.

She had just entered the hallway with her locker when a gaint robotic snake crashed through the walls and lockers, slithering in front of her.

A feeling of fear crawled into her as it glared down at her, scanning her body. She stayed still before turning and bolting down the hallway, hearing the robot jolt before slam through the floor.

It slammed up a second too late and she flipped back in the air, landing hard on the ground. A groan slipped through her lips as a foul smell entered the air.

"Smokebomb!"

Her eyes blinked at the blurry figure of black, a red scarf flapping beside him. Nat's hands meet the floor as she pulled herself off the floor, touching the bump forming on her head.

She watched as his sword sliced through the snake's metal body before glancing over at her, picking her up in bridal style and slamming a small ball against the ground.

Her body bounced as he moved, her sight changing to the white ceiling of the Nurse's Office. He set her down gently down as the bed and she stared at his blue eyes. He turned to walk away but her hand grabbed his sleeve.

"Thank you..." She trailed off, sitting up slightly but letting go of his arm. His eyes widened behind his mask but he gave her a single nod.

"Just doing my job." He said, pulling out a third bomb and throwing it on the ground as the Nurse entered.

"Oh, you must be one of the new students we got. Already getting into trouble?" She was a nice woman, having a fun, bubbly personality that reminded her of her mother's.

"Nat!" The door burst open and Randy and Howard were hugging onto each other, breathes falling out.

"We heard about the robot attack," Howard stared as Randy continued.

"So we wanted to make sure you were okay."

A ghost of of a smile crawled on her face. "I'm fine! The Ninja is pretty good at his job." She admitted, a light blush appearing on her face as she remembered his arms under the crook of knees, his other arm against her back.

"Sounds like someone has a little crush!" Howard teases as Randy gains a shade of pink. Her ears burn as she raises her shirt over her cheeks.

"It's not a crush," she protested, "I just appreciate him for saving me."

_After all, what does appreciation lead to? _


	3. Shadow of the Cheshires

As Randy and Howard stayed around Nat, they noticed something... _Different_ about her.

When she was angry, her ears would turn a bright red while when she was embarrassed, her cheeks would.

Now, standing in front of her, watching as her ears turn red, rubbing the dark market inked on her skin, they realized she was scary when she needed to be.

Her emerald eyes were narrowed on her locker, muttering under her breath as she dug through her locker.

Randy scanned her form, noticing the tension of dripping from her and decided not to mention that she still had marker on her cheek.

Howard, on the other hand, ignored all the signs and auras she was giving off.

"Hurry up, I'm hungry."

She turned, glaring sharply at him before closing her locker and turning, stalking down the hall.

Her lips were pale as she pressed her lips together, trying to control her anger.

She pushed open the door, staring at the chaos of the monster attack and turned, walking down the hall like a stanked Bucky wasn't hissing and growling at people.

He hid behind the trash-can, slipping the surprisingly warm mask over his face as ribbons of cloth curled around him, turning him into the Ninja.

He dropped a smokebomb on the ground, seemingly forming from the smelly smoke.

"Smoke-bomb!" It was show time.

Bucky's attention turned to him as he let out a fierce roar through he didn't become fazed by it. "You know," he said, turning to Flute Girl, who was cowering, "if you said 'yes' to him more often, these types of situations wouldn't happen as often."

He pointedly gestured to the scene of Bucky throwing a table at him before jumping away, catching Flute Girl with a yell of "Ninja Save" before dropping her near the door.

He pointed his sword at the stanked student, seriousness seeping into his tone. "Let's find that stanked item, it's nacho day."

Bucky roared before slamming a fist down near Randy. "Ninja Dodge!" He did a backflip, landing neatly on his feet as he scanned over his form, looking for the green smoke and completely missing the triangle slamming into his chin, knocking him up until the fist slammed him into the wall.

He slid down with a groan as Howard peeked his head out from behind the trashcan, the glowing screen of his phone seeming especially bright and causing Randy to glare at his easiness. "Hurry up, Ninja! It's nacho day!"

He muttered under his breathe as he pulled his sai, instantly abandoning his sword. "Ninja Run, Ninja Dodge!" He shouted only to be met with another fist.

His back to the wall again and he groaned as something started to laugh above him, he went on guard as a silhouette dropped from the ground landing neatly on the ground.

He saw a dark pair of boots, worn with use, and then a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans paired with a red tank-top and a black hoodie.

He met the figure's eyes to see a pair of shades covering them, the edges ruffling their long black hair but it didn't stop the entertained smirk on her face. "This is the oh-so-great Ninja I've heard about? Hm, I though you'd be better."

"Who the juice are you?"

She cocked up an eyebrow, glancing back over to the raging Bucky. "I think you have more things to worry about then my name." He felt pure irritation from how right she was before digging his way from the wall.

Her ears turned the faintest shade as he slammed into the wall for the fourth time. "Need some help~?"

It seemed like this girl's presence was here to annoy him. "I can handle it!" He said, gritting his teeth as he got out of the wall again.

"Sure, you can-" she cut herself off, pushing him back as Bucky slammed into the stop they were just in.

He heard a yelp from Howard, before hearing him cry out "I died!" Bucky snarled, turning to the trash can and throwing it to the side, picking the chubby teen by his shirt.

"Hey, uh, Ninja? There needs to be a little saving done here!"

He tried to move forward, his foot stepping forward but then a spark of pain ran up his leg and he tumbled forward.

A single thought ran through his head, one his mother loved to say.

_Work smart not hard. _

He was trying so hard to be Bucky that he spent himself out and twisted his ankle. The pure adrenaline of the fight keeping him from realizing it.

The girl caught him, setting him on the ground gently. Her face was twisted in one of concern, for Howard or himself, he didn't know, and she was gnawing on her lip.

"The suit heals all your injuries quickly so just sit still." He nods at her command and she stood, pulling a sai from thin air.

She charged at him, swiftly slicing at the necklace that was hanging his neck that Randy didn't notice before.

The vomit green mist flew out of it, heading down the drain as she let out a single breath, closing her eyes momentarily.

She then turned to him and, in a flash, she was in front of him, her sai crossed over his neck.

"Listen closely," she started off tensely, "I am a Cheshire, you will call me Shadow-"

"Is this your first time talking to a boy?"

Her grip faltered as her jaw dropped at his stupid question. "What-"

"I mean," he corrected himself, "you seem like this is your first time talking to a boy."

"No this not my first time talking to a boy! Stop interrupting me!" Her ears were red, her dark green eyes narrowed.

"Hm," he then put on a cunning smirk that was worthy of his surname, "then why are you nervous?"

"I'm not nervous-!"

"Smoke-bomb!"

He dropped the previously pulled out bomb, the nasty smelling smoke causing her to cough, dropping her sai and letting him swiftly escape from her threatening presence.

He let a breath of relief when he saw her searching for him, her ears now a furious red that could compare to Nat's any day.

"Shadow... What a weird person."

* * *

The scene started off at a river, two men both collecting water in large vases. The sky with dark with an upcoming storm, lighting lighting up the dark color.

The men didn't notice as they continued on the task at hand, trailing a path for the water to follow and enter the vase.

Thunder rumbled the area as they both looked up just as a bolt of quick lighting stroke down towards the man closest to Randy.

The other man acted quickly, pushing the man away from the dangerous bolt and moving away safely.

Randy, on the other hand, was knocked down on his butt, staring up at the words that were formed by lighting in the sky.

_An ally is closer than you think..._

He read the words to himself, outrage and confusion lining over them each time he repeated them. "Nomicon, I'm the Ninja," he started off slowly, like the book was a small child, "I don't need an ally."

Thunder sounded, lighting flashed as the ground shook slightly. It seemed like the Nomicon did not approve of his words. "I mean, why should have an ally? All they do is get in the way?"

The ground shook harder and soon, the earth cracked open, leaving him falling through a gaping wide hole in the ground.

* * *

**So here is the third chapter where Shadow comes in! I realized in the original book that I didn't really give Randy and Shadow a reason to dislike each other so here is the reason now! Shadow seems to annoying to Randy while Shadow thinks that the Ninja is a waste of time and that he too stubborn to actually protect people (even through she has a soft spot for him). **

**Anyway, comment and tell me what you think!**

**~TruRebellion**


	4. Tengu & Stank

The football field was illuminated by lights, students cowering away from the two teens standing in the center.

The girl, Shadow, had her hands held up like a block, protecting her face and neck while the boy, Randy, had his sword pointed at her, his eyes narrowed darkly.

"Hey... How about we talk this out over some McPower!" Her smile was nervous, the corner of her mouth twitched with irritation.

"I don't want to talk," his voice was tight with anger, something that hadn't been directed at her during their last couple of encounters.

Usually, he was annoyed and irritated with her but now, he seemed off. It wasn't like she had snapped on him... It just felt like he was trying to channel his anger at something.

It was almost crazy to believe that this had all started with the football team losing their first game of the season.

_"Go Fishes- Woah!"_

_Nat plopped down as Bash got brutally pounded into the ground by the opposing team._

_"Why are we here again?" Howard questioned, his chin propped up on the heel of his palm, his eyelids dropped halfway down over his eyes signaling his boredom._

_"I'm related to two of the players," she said, watching as Norrisville recovered from the tackle, "they requested moral support for the game."_

_"But why are we here?" Randy asked as he twisted a piece of his tyrian purple bangs._

_"Because," she started off knowingly, "you two wanted to know what I was doing after school."_

_"Ah, um," they realized they were caught when she raised an eyebrow at their stuttering._

_She then started to mock them, "'ah, um' what?"_

_"You caught us," the taller of the two confessed as she gave them a soft smile at them._

_"That just shows that you care," she waved it off, turning back to the game._

_His eyes stayed on her, thinking that in that moment... She actually looked a little cute. Not like Theresa Folwer cute... But cute._

_Her sharp gasp broke him out of his thoughts and he turned towards the field, a boy with black hair but shining green eyes laid on the grass._

_His face was twisted in pain, a bone stuck out of the exposed flesh of his leg._

_Nat shot up, her feet padding against the metal bleachers as she reached the ground, running over towards the boy._

_Another girl was running on the field too, her own black hair flying wildly behind her as well._

_They both dropped down to the ground, lips moving rapidly but the sound never reached his ears._

_The blood rushed to his ears, a slight pinch come from his chest and soon before he knew it, he scoffed._

_This feeling had happened before, every time Nat would go help another boy with a problem, or when she would spend her time talking to Howard verses himself._

_He just chalked it off as him getting heartburn, something that didn't surprise him by how many warnings he had seen on the food he ate._

_And seemed like he was getting it again._

_The boy gave Nat a pained smile causing her to nod and lean forward, planting her lips on his forehead in a quick peck._

_She stood up as some eleventh grades came onto the field with a medical mat._

_They gently set him on it, picking up the ground. The black-haired girl said something to Nat causing her to bid and head back to her seat._

_"Nat-"_

_"Randy," she interrupted, biting off nail, "I appreciate the concern but I just... I just want to watch the game."_

_He felt slightly hurt by her words but decided to bother on and let her stay in silence._

_The game resumed after she left the field, Norrisville slacking off. In the end, they lost by fifty-three points._

_Thanks to the huge loss and an injury, they became seriously upset and disappointed, allowing them to get stanked by the Sorcerer._

_He ended up having to deal with it until Shadow showed up, saving the day and having everyone believe that she was the real hero instead of him._

_And now they were in this position._

"Ninja, just calm down." Shadow urged him, her hands up to show that she wasn't going to hurt him.

"Oh, I am calm."

He charged at her, to which she side-stepped, going to guard her face and neck.

It shocked her that he wasn't even shouting out his attacks, his mood barely scratched over mad.

He charged again and she dodged, shifting back enough so that his blade scratched across her arm, drawing small droplets of blood.

She grabbed her injured arm, dodging another of attacks but slipping on Ninja Slipping Ball.

The ground came crashing forward as she fell, cracking her head against the grass.

Soon, his sword was dangling over her and she did what she normally did in the face of death.

She clenched her eyes as smoke grew over her, disappearing her from view. When it finally cleared, she was gone.

"What the juice is wrong with you?!" A voice screeched at him and he turned, seeing Shadow cradling her head. Blood seeped through her fingers. "That last move could have killed me!"

Anger dotted her face, her eyes narrowed onto his face. "That was the point," he hissed darkly, pointing his sword at her shocked form. Suddenly, her shock faded and turned into anger and she had her own sword out, daring him to challenge her.

"Looks like I need to teach you a lesson about respect."

They stood across from each other, swords pointing at each as they waited for the other to make their move. Silence seeped between the as they both entered a state of uttermost concentration. Randy sucked in a breath, releasing it as he charged forward.

She put her sword up, blocking his attack. "Don't base your attacks on a pattern, especially your breath." She kneeled upward causing him to tumble down to the ground, holding his crotch in pain. "Fight dirty because it might save you in a tough situation."

She kicked him hard in the chest, nuzzling her foot under his rib cage painfully. "Come on, Ninja! I thought you were trying to kill me!" Her sword laid abandoned in the dirt and he inched towards it, taking another and another one of her painful kicks.

"If you can't beat me, how can you protect Norrisville?" She was bent over, her black hair dangling like a waterfall over them. "Come on, tell me?"

His hand wrapped around the hilt of her blade and soon, he swung up, nicking her on the neck and probably killing her if she didn't jerk back. "You-" She cut herself off, diving forward to hit him. He swiftly grabbed her arm, flipping him over her so that he rolled over her. He trapped her hands down, pinning her legs down.

"How come," he started in her same taunting voice, his eyes narrowed, " since you are obviously the better fighter, why have you not made a scratch on me?"

Shadow clenched her teeth and pushed him off of her, pinning him down with her arm and crushing his windpipe and cutting off his oxygen. "Listen here, _boy_," Shadow spat the words at him, "you know nothing about being a Ninja, _nothing_. All you know how to do is make mistakes."

A new voice joined the conversation, raspy, like it hasn't been used in a long time, and full of knowledge. "And that's what you were suppose to teach him, how to be a good Ninja... but you can't do that if he's dead, right?" She glanced over her shoulder as black spots started to dot his vision, his mouth gapping wide to inhale more oxygen.

She glanced back down, before sitting up and rolling off of him. Coughs rattled out of him as he tried to catch his breathe while also trying to exhale. "Nomi Con," Shadow said sarcastically, "always a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Attempting to murder the Ninja," Nomi hissed, his eyes narrowed, "is not what you are suppose to be doing." Nomi was about twenty-three, his bright red hair flying out different directions as his chocolate brown eyes, stuffed with wisdom and knowledge, narrowed on Shadow's lazy form.

"I was teaching him," she said simply with a lazy grin before turning to Randy, "wasn't I teaching you?" Her eyes basically read "say yes or die" and he nervously grinned at Nomi.

_Don't base your attacks on a pattern... Fight dirty..._

Suddenly, what she said clicked into his head. This was a _ploy_. "Yeah, she is," he said, shocking himself and apparently his ninja-book-turned-human teacher, "Teaching me, that is."

"See," she smirked, pulling herself up from the ground with ease, "I'm doing my job." Nomi sighed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Well, can you 'do your job' a little more carefully, or did my idiotic younger teach you nothing but to always engage in fights?"

That was when she swayed on feet, falling back towards the ground. Nomi moved into action, putting an arm under her leg while supporting her back with his other. He held her bridal style, the faintest smear of crimson blood smearing on his white shirt from the wound on her head.

"This is why," he started, irritable, "we do _not_ pick fights with others!" He turned on his heel, heading towards the fence that surrounded the school. He then adjusted the girl, who grunted, shifting around before falling still, and started to climb over it.

Randy, who had trailed after them, simply jumped over it, landing on his feet as Nomi did, switching Shadow back into bridal style. "And because this is your mistake," Nomi declared, "you can hold her."

He deposited the girl in Randy's shocked arms, which quickly got a good grip on her. She was surprisingly light, he noted, examining her face. "Don't stare at her," Nomi scolded as he pulled out a bony key from his jean pocket, "it's creepy."

A bright blush spread against his cheeks and, for once, he was happy for the smelly mask on his face. The teacher started to walk again, walking for a couple of minutes before they came across a dojo, the wood painted red and black and decorated with dragons and... was that the Tengu?

Nomi inserted the key, turning it and then going to slide the doors to the side. Dust exploded as soon as the door opened causing the two boys to cough and the girl to sigh deeply. "Home..."

Her eyes cracked open and she peered up at Randy's sapphire orbs. "Randy," she said before glancing at him fully and hitting him hard in the cheek. He dropped her as he fell back, rubbing his clothed cheeks. "What are you doing touching me?" She hissed, rubbing her lower back.

"You fainted," he protested, "Nomi told me to hold you!" She narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything else, picking herself off from the ground. She finally noticed her surroundings, watching Nomi, who was inside checking under little statues inside the dojo.

She finally stepped inside, eyeing the room that she was in. "Why do I feel like I've been here before?" He raised an eyebrow at her, didn't she just call the place her home.

"You probably have," Nomi had switched to pulling out books, like he was looking for a trap door, "in your dreams, that is. The Ninja has yet to experience the past of Ninjas and Cheshires."

She nodded her head, pulling out a red book with a gold symbol printed on the spine. Suddenly the room started to move, floors splitting as the doors slammed closed. Light flooded the room as Nomi sighed, a grateful smile on his face.

"You really are like her," soon he turned serious, his eyes watching the both of them, "Ninjas and Cheshires are suppose to be allies, not enemies. History has put you both on this path and fate is what has secured you both on it."


	5. Some Things Never Change

"During the ancient times," Nomi started, "dark magic was dangerous and often led to death among humans. So it was trapped into four orbs. The Ninja's job, at the time, was to make sure that this magic stayed away from the views of the mortals..."

* * *

_A man with dark brown hair held a paint brush carefully in his hand, constantly switching his gaze between the scenery and the canvas. Then a girl with dark brown hair and shining green eyes came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders._

_"Tetsu-kun," she started, nuzzling her nose into the collar of his neck, "you just couldn't wait to paint our new home yet, couldn't you?"_

_"Yuuki*," he set the brush down, turning in his seat so that he could pull her down into his arms and sitting her in his lap, "this is perfect. Our home, our marriage, you... It's all perfect that I want to capture it."_

_She laughed lightly, cupping his cheek and pressing her lips against his in a soft kiss. She pulled away, letting the small smile on her face grow slightly larger. "You're such a sweetheart." She teased before leaning down to kiss him again._

* * *

"So they're the true founders of Norrisville?" Randy asked as Nomi briefly glanced at him through the corner of his eye before sighing.

"I guess you could say that," he said, resting his chin in his palm, "they were the first people here."

"Then why weren't they didn't they receive the credit of founding it?" Shadow questioned, flicking both her brows up as Nomi turned and glanced between them.

"Curious, are we?... Anyway, you'll find out soon enough."

* * *

_Yuki grasped Tetsuya*'s hand, pulling him through the garden around their house. She dragged him as he laughed at her efforts to move him before getting somewhat serious._

_"What are you doing?" He laughed as her face started to turn red from the struggling._

_"I'm trying to get you to move, baka*," she pulled harder than before causing them both to stumble, "so I can tell you something important."_

_He finally stop playing around at that, allowing her to guide him to the place where he first sat down to paint. Once he recognized it, he furrowed his eyes in confusion. "What are we doing here?"_

_She turned, smiling. "This is where you admitted that everything was perfect," she started, lacing their fingers together, "I just wanted to make this place a little bit more special by saying that I'm pregnant."_

_His jaw dropped at her blunt statement, blinking rapidly as she stared at him in concern. "Uh, Tetsu? Is there anyone there?" Then he charged forward, his arms wrapping around her waist as he picked her up and spun her, tilting his head up to meet her lips._

_Her fingers, which were wound around his shoulders, moved up to cup his cheeks, pressing harder before pulling away. "That was nice and everything... But I'm going to be sick if you keep spinning me."_

* * *

"Is that shoob," he pointed at Shadow, who bared her teeth at him, "related to that girl - Yuki, was it? - and what happened along the way?"

Her eyebrow twitched and she almost said something when she noticed the look Nomi was giving her. "They both are," he answered, watching the screen in front of them, "and you've both met them already."

They both furrowed their eyebrows but stayed silent as the next memory slide onto the screen.

* * *

_Yuki held onto Tetsuya's hand, rubbing a damp cloth over his forehead to cool him down. His chest heaved as he was bombarded with delusions of power and strength._

_"You can't keep avoiding it," she whispered lowly, her voice holding irritation and sadness, "especially now that your cornered by your own sickness." Her hands caressed at the small bump of her abdomen._

_His skin was tainted the lightest shade of green, eyes now black with a white pupil, his hair was slowly falling out. "It's nothing, Yuki," his raspy voice sounded as he broke through his hallucinations._

_"Nothing," she repeated, eyes narrowed on his form as he blearily starred up at her, "I'm sick of the lies, Testuya. You look like death." She stood up, ready to leave before his hand grasped her wrist, warm and clammy._

_"A man," he coughed loudly, blood splattering on his fist as he covered his mouth, "a man said that he could give me everything I wanted for my family, I believed him." he took a deep breath. "He gave me four orbs, said to make a wish on them with each pointing in a different direction."_

_He paused, like he was ashamed to say what happened next but continued nonetheless. "I am so sorry," he started before continuing, "I ruined our destiny by accidentally forcing us to create a powerful bloodline of Sorcerers and Sorceresses, starting with me and moving through family till," he coughed again, this time, hacking blood on the floor._

_"Testuya!" She moved to his side, rubbing his back as his coughing stopped._

_"I'm sorry," he was starting to get drowned in the hallucinations and delusions, getting pulled away from her, "but I will not remember you or our child together."_

_And then he was gone, his eyes clenched shut as he held onto the sheet, falling into a painful sleep._

_"Looks like we really are destined for chaos," she whispered to the bump, rubbing it soothingly. A tear dripped down her cheek and she wiped it away, trying to seem strong by herself. Like it mattered anyway._

* * *

"I feel sorry for the Sorcerer," Nomi and Randy glanced over at Shadow, watching as she stared at the screen, "I mean, all he wanted was for his child to have a good life and instead he ruined it."

"But at the same time," Randy said, catching her attention, "he tried to make it better by hiding it, wasting any chance to fix his mistake."

"True, but that doesn't mean that they don't deserve the credit of founding Norrisville... That's basically the same as ripping away all of their rights."

Nomi watched the two of them in interest, noticing the way that they were actually enjoying each other's company during this little history lesson. "That is true but humans... are prideful. The people of Norrisville would never admit that their founders used dark magic so they covered it."

Her lips tugged down as Randy and her met each other's glance, seemingly agreeing on something. "I still can't help but pity them."

* * *

_Yuki curled in on herself, humming a tune to herself as she rocked back and forth. Above her, loud laughter and crashing noises causing her to flinch._

_Stress curled through her as she rubbed her bump, already at six months. She suddenly had a burst of laughter, breaking through her song._

_The effects of the curse were getting to her, driving her insane. She glanced down at her skin, seeing the light green skin before running it through her long, shaggy black hair._

_Her hand drifted back down at the bump, feeling the baby kick and she smiled as the noise above her silenced. "I promise," she whispered, "to protect you with my life... you will not know about the horrors of the world."_

_She broke that promise, the first of many._

* * *

Silence sounded between the trio of people, Shadow covering her eyes with her arms as Randy stared at the scene with horror.

"Humans make mistakes," she whispered under he breath, catching both of their attention and they noticed the look in her eye, determination, "but that path was set up by something that wasn't human, right?"

"I believe so," Nomi said, "but there is no way to fix what happened because..."

"The past can only stay in the past," Randy finished, finally saying something after the scene that they had just seen, "or else the future will be ruined."

* * *

_The Sorceress cradled a baby into her, her blue eyes staring down onto the sleeping baby's face. It was ugly, she thought, with its red skin, barely-there hair, and oily face._

_But there was almost something... charming about it, the fact that she had to work for it._

_She scoffed, almost feeling the urge to throw the baby away from her._

_"All that work and what I get is a shriveled piece of meat... Exactly what I wanted," she said sarcastically but still carefully laid the baby down in the basket next to her._

* * *

"It seems like her actions contradict her words," Shadow said simply, eyeing the scene.

"The Sorcerer and Sorceress are just darker, more power hungry forms of Yuki-san and Tetsuya-san... They still have the instincts that they had inquired before they were transitioned and at a stage as early as this, they show up at their weakest moments."

"You said, 'at a stage as early as this,'" Randy started, "so as the child grew older, it wasn't always like that was it?"

He gave them a sad smile, before turning to the screen. "Just watch."

* * *

_A hand smacked down hard on Aiko*'s face, her falling back and slamming hard into the floor. The Sorceress's human form, Amanda, stood over her, disappointment dripping off of her._

_"It was a simple spell," her mother said, "even a baby could do it." She held onto her burning cheek, barely gaining the courage to look at her._

_"I'm sorry."_

_The Sorceress scoffed, bending over and harshly digging her nails into her daughter's arm as she dragged her up. "Don't apologize," Aiko was harshly shoved away from her, "just get it right."_

* * *

"No amount of Ninja training can prepare you for child abuse," Randy remarked, his eyes down at the ground, "no fighting can prepare you for _that_."

"This went on after that 'early' stage," Shadow closed her eyes, "do you know when it started?"

Nomi looked uncomfortably, saddened even. This was one part of the history he hated. "When she was five..." They didn't say anything after that, just stayed silent in their own thoughts*.

* * *

_Aiko's feet slammed against the rooftop of homes, jumping over the gaps between them as she attempted to dodge Ninja Rings._

_When she finally though she had made it, she felt a weight push her down, her own blue eyes staring up at dark brown ones. "Where do you think you are going?"_

_She snapped out of her trance after hearing his snarky voice, starting to kick her legs and flip him off her. "Well, I was trying to get away from you," she finally stopped, noticing she wasn't getting anyway, "but you know about bakas, right? Never can get away from them."_

_The boy sat shocked at her comment as she quickly kicked her feet away from his, easily flipping him over and stood up, running and jumping down into the space between the houses._

_He too got up before getting knocked down. He looked up and was met with flaming nostrils. A dragon, he thought with a groan as he started to fight off the winged beast._

* * *

_"Let me go, aho*!" Aiko kicked her legs, almost hitting the Ninja that was shackling her to the wall. That was one of the nicest things that she had been saying to him._

_"The sooner you sit still," he said, closing on of the shackles before moving on to her other arm, "than the sooner I can let you go." She hissed at him, kicking his in the crotch._

_He groaned, swiftly shackling her before pulling off his mask. "What is your deal?" She hissed, tugging at the metal around her wrist._

_"I'm trying to save people," a fourteen-year-old Nomi hissed, "the least you can do is stop fighting me!"_

_Her eyes narrowed before she slumped against the wall, annoyance radiating from her. "You're going to get me killed," she said simply, closing her eyes._

_He didn't say anything after that._

* * *

"You weren't the slightest bit worried when she said that you were going to get her killed." It wasn't a question.

Randy glanced over at Shadow, watching as she eyed Nomi. The book-turned-human was stuck in his thoughts, staring at Aiko. "I should have been," he confessed, "I should have been tipped off by that."

"Sometimes... The wrong thing to do is often hidden by the right morals."

* * *

_A couple years later, Nomi opened the door to his home, soon meeting the lips of his wife. Her growing bump pressed against his stomach as she wrapped her arms around his neck._

_"I missed you," she whispered, her breath ghosting over his shoulder, "I though you had died." He sighed, rubbing her back softly._

_"Are you getting fatter?"_

_Her eyebrow twitched as she pulled away, balling her fist and slamming it hard into his shoulder. He stumbled as she glared up at him. "That's no way to treat your pregnant wife, aho!"_

_His eyes widened slightly, his jaw dropped. "P-P-Pregnant... B-Baby... D-D-Dad!" His eyes rolled back into his head as he fell back, his body landing with a thud._

_"Aw," she started, crouching down next to him, "I really wanted you to go out and get some food, aho..."_

* * *

Snickers came from Shadow and Randy as they tried to cover their laughter, faces red from it being held in. "That, phf-" Randy burst out laughing causing Shadow to join in, heaving as they tried to break words out.

"Was, ah, the cheese!" She shouted, rolling on the floor, and ending up laying next to Randy, who was slowly starting to calm down.

Once they both calmed down, they noticed how close they were. A blush spread against their cheeks, Shadow's being the only person's noticeable before they scooted away from each other.

* * *

_Aiko sat in silence, sitting next to Kayo*, her daughter. The door slid open and she jumped up, holding her daughter's hand to reassure that she wasn't going to disappear._

_"His injuries... Were too much for his body to handle like that..." Maki Con stated, extending a book towards her, "so we had to give him a way to heal."_

_She took the book, watching as it reacted to her touched, glowing lightly. "This is way of healing?" She questioned, touching the cover of the book lightly._

_"There may be a chance that you, and Kayo, will be... passed when Nomi is healed."_

_"You mean dead," she plopped back down into the seat, her eyes moving away from the older brother of the man that she loved, "I may never see him again."_

_He nodded, staring at Kayo, who didn't seem to fully understand the gravity of the situation. "It would also be a good idea that you train your daughter with her dark magic."_

_She nodded, glancing over at her daughter. "Thank you... For the suggestion."_

* * *

"So what was the whole point of this story?" Shadow questioned as she put her elbow on her knee, propping her chin on palm. "To make me realize exactly how messed my family is?"

Nomi sat still, thinking about the best way to explain the whole reason for the lesson to them. "The Ninja ruined history as it was." She twisted her necklace around her finger, showing the image of a Tengu wrapped in a Boa Constrictor.

"No surprise," she started snarky, "that the current Ninja of Norrisville actually ruined something." Her eyes were narrowed darkly on the space in front of her causing fear spread through Randy.

"So," Nomi interrupted, "the this story means nothing to the modern-day Cheshire and Ninja but it is a lesson to show that their fates are destined to intertwine."

"Intertwine?" They asked in unison before it suddenly donned on them what he was saying.

"W-W-We are suppose to..."

"G-Get married?!"

Suddenly, Randy's eyes rolled back and his body fell limply to the ground as Shadow started to have a panic attack. "I can't marry this loser! Tell me I'm not suppose to marry this loser!"

A sigh escaped Nomi's mouth as he watched the two of them. "The last Ninja and Cheshire took it better than this..."

"I don't want to marry this loser!"


	6. Bears, Cuts, and Shadows Oh My!

After Nomi's history lesson, Randy was found constantly avoiding most of his female friends (especially Nat, who he was having mixed feelings for).

It wasn't that he was trying to be bitter about him having no chance of getting a girlfriend that he _could_ stand but more so that it was so _awkward_ for him to be around anyone that was a girl.

"So," Howard started off, drawing out the word as he munched on a pickle, "you're marrying Shadow?"

Randy gave his friend a single nod of his head, biting down on the nub that used to be his fingernail. The thought of marrying the infuriating girl made him feel... sick.

"Does that mean I can have Nat?" His friend visibly brightened before deflating at the taller's boy sharp glare, taking another bite of his pickle.

Randy pulled his fingers out of his mouth, frowning as he twisted his backpack's straps. "I don't care what you do," he said a little too harshly, "I don't even like Nat."

"But Nat does like you," the redhead smirked at the widening of his friend's eyes, "but it doesn't matter that a grade-A hottie totally is crushing over you, right?"

"You're lying," he said dismissively, "there is no way that Nat likes me like that." But the though of having Nat as his girlfriend was... pleasing, in a way.

"Ah-ha!" his friend shouted as he pointed a finger at his face, "you're thinking about her as a girlfriend, aren't you?"

"Shut up" is all that he said as he walked over to his locker, twisting in the combination and pulling out a can of McPower, reminding him slightly of Shadow.

Randy grimaced as his thoughts turned to the fact that he had to marry her and popped open the can, taking a large swig of bubbling caffeine.

He closed his locker to see Nat standing there, bags under her eyes and a tired smile on her face. "Boo," she said calmly causing him to jump, his can slipping through his fingers.

She quickly bent over, her hand grabbing the can before it impacted on the floor. The liquid splashed over the edge and onto her hand as she handed it back to him.

"Uh, thanks," he stuttered as she nodded, finally noticing the liquid on her hand. She brought her hand up, her tongue licking the energy drink off her skin. His cheeks instantly turned red, him taking a huge gulp to control himself.

"Hey, did you guys-"

Heidi's voice instantly cut Nat off mid-sentence as her face flashed across the TVs positioned in the hall. "What's happening, N-Ville!" The redhead smiled into the camera. "I hope that your haps are the cheese because the Ninja is obviously not feeling good after the major bashing he took last night!"

A picture of him, in Ninja form, and Shadow flashed onto the screen and he could't help but grimace at the image. A groan threatened to escape him but he held it back, completely ignoring what the webcaster had to say next. That was until he heard the words he was dreading.

"And thanks to my younger brother, Howard Wienerman, we have full video coverage of the Ninja getting his butt handed to him!"

Then, to his horror, they played a video of the fight, showing both him and Shadow in full view (minus the part with Nomi). A thought snaked his way into his head that did make him groan out loud, _the Ninja is so screwed_.

* * *

It was the seventh period of the day, the final one, and the ninth graders were playing a game of _Flameball_. It was an extremely dangerous game where the tenth graders of the class shot _flames_ from a _flamethrower_ at the younger students played basketball (obviously trying to avoid getting burnt to a crisp).

Nat's team was winning with a lead of seven, the ball also in their possession - more specifically Nat's. The ball was in her hand, positioned to make a three-pointer that would get them to twenty-five points, meaning they would win the game.

The ball was pushed up, her wrist snapping down as her fingers splashed out, like she was testing the water of a bath. It soared through the air and she considered it a perfect shot until...

Her jaw dropped down as a bear-like robot crashed through the wall, destroying the opposing team's goal as well as sending her shot way off course.

Annoyance creeped into her as her eyebrow twitched, a shout of "what the juice?!" escaping her mouth. Now, her next move, was an _extremely_ stupid one.

She picked up the orange ball that had rolled to her and, remember, this is _really_ stupid, pitched it as far and hard as she could towards the robot, the ball bouncing off of its head.

It was silent in the gym, the only people inside of the area was herself - the robot, if she could consider that a person - and Howard. Nat gaped at her hand, her eyes wide as the robot turned slowly on her.

Once it was completely facing her, it let out a loud roar, fire mingling with the air. It soon charged at her, Nat moving back quickly before she felt arms wrap around her arm and under the crook of her knees.

She was soaring in the air as the Ninja jumped, dodging the bear and allowing for it to crash into the wall. The Ninja laughed heartily, holding her close in his arms. She could feel the warmth coming from him through his suit and his faint muscles.

Nat glanced up, eyeing his masked face as her arms looped tightly against his neck. His sapphire eyes gleamed with excitement but she couldn't get rid of the feeling that she had seen them before (without him as the Ninja, of course).

He started to hop around more, tightening his grip on her when he would land somewhat awkwardly. He continued dodging the robot with her in his arms for a few moments before speaking.

"You do realize," he ducked down, jolting her down with him before jumping back up to avoid a swift of the robot, "that you are literally the cheese."

A blush creeped at her cheeks, despite not fulling understanding why he was saying that. "Thanks," she muttered, "but what exactly do you mean by that?"

He hopped back, his smile showing faintly through his mask. "Come on," he said teasingly, "what girl would do what you did and do?"

"I am one of a kind," she boasted jokingly as he jumped onto the top of the bleachers, setting her down carefully, "but I would consider throwing the basketball risky and reckless."

"That's exactly why," his eyes twinkled as a warm feeling spread through her, "you are a pretty cheese girl."

Her eyes widened as her blushed darkened, his smile widened and becoming slightly more noticeable. "That's... That was really sweet." He wanted to respond, she knew it, but he just bounced backwards, engaging in a fight with the robotic bear.

Nat smiled faintly, her eyes trained on the fighting form of the black-clothed protecter of Norrisville and Norrisville High.

"Hm, what do you know," her smile grew on her face to expose teeth as she remembered being in the Ninja's hold, "looks like I have feelings for him too."

* * *

After setting Nat down, Randy was back in combat with the robot bear, still carefully dodging the sharp claws that were constantly swung his way.

It was a pretty simple task, the only way to do it was with extreme concentration, which he had. Until it was broken by a soft thud next to him.

His eyes averted to the sound, leaving him open for the bear to slice down. Its claws dug three diagonal line into his flesh, ripping the material of his suit.

He pawed at his chest, ignoring the burning pain as he tried to stand. His vision swarmed because of the pain, trying to stay focus. He barely noticed when Shadow swung, cutting the robot straight down the middle.

His tugged at his mask, trying to pull it off but the Cheshire was quick to layer her hands over his, forcing him to stop his movements. "Stop Randy," she hissed, "the mask helps sped up healing so keep it _on_."

She helped settle him onto the ground, carefully laying him flat before she pulled off her hoody, leaving her in her tank-top. Shadow pressed the material against his bleeding wound, holding it there to try and control the blood.

"I," he started off, knowing that she wouldn't hit him while he was bleeding out on the gym floor, "I could have handled that." Her dark eyes narrowed on him and she pushed down harder on his wound.

"Shut up and whither in pain."

It was silent between them after that, her lightening up on the wound before she pulled it away. She tossed it to the side of her before pressing her hands against his wound gently, them glowing a faint green.

The air around him got unbearable hot as he shook in pain. It started off as a warm tingle, then it felt like his skin was ripping, soon turning into a furious itch, before finally just becoming _sore_.

"If you so much as fight a robot or stanked student in these next couple of hours, I'll kill you," then she pulled back from him, rubbing sweat off her brow as _his_ blood smeared against her face, "if I'm not dead by then."

Shadow wiped her hands off on her hoody before dropping it on the ground. She, then, wrapped her arm around his backside, his other arm snaking around her neck as she quickly pulled him him, carefully not to put pressure on hi stomach and chest.

Just as she finally got him standing the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. The door to the gym burst open as Howard ran in, his face turning from excitement and slight concern to shock and confusion.

"Take care of him" is all that she said to the redhead that she handed Randy over to before glancing at his black-clothed self.

"Now, you stay _safe_," she hissed, glaring darkly at him before she sighed, "we'll work on concentration later..." Then she did something completely shocking.

She leaned forward, her lips brushing across his clothed cheek (which instantly flared up but he'd never admit to that) before pulling away, giving him a single nod.

Howard and him exchanged a look before glancing at the spot where she was but she had disappeared. They stared for awhile before Howard broke that silence.

"Cunningham, I think that we have absolutely no idea what you're getting into..."

* * *

Randy stood in front of his mirror, his shirt pulled up to expose the dark pink flesh that used to be a open wound a couple hours ago.

Although he was curious to see if it actually felt like a regular healing wound, he didn't dare touch it because every time he came close to touching it, Shadow's green glare flashed in his mind.

He let his pajama shirt floated down as he watched his reflection, his hand skimming across his cheeks as some of what Shadow said came back to him in a snap.

_"... If I'm not dead by then."_

His hand dropped as his thoughts raced in his hand. Was she being targeted? Was something happening with her normal life beyond being Shadow? More so... Was she okay?

He turned, bounding up the steps of his bunkbed painfully. Once he was at the top bunk, he laid down flat in his sheets, closing his eyes as his mind shut down.

Sleep came quickly after that, like a drug that eased off the stress and tiredness he was feeling as the Ninja. Darkness invaded his vision before light, like the sun, flowed over him.

_Nat twirled with ease in his grasp, laughing lightly with him when she stumbled forward, toppling over him. The ground met his backside, grass tickled his skin softly as wildflowers around them enveloped them in a sweet aroma._

_She stopped laughing for a moment, peering down at his face which was slowly growing crimson at the intensity of it. Then, she pulled away, leaving him staring up at the clear sky._

_He sat up too, staring at her as she smiled at him, her brown strands flying carefully behind her. "Have I ever told you," she started off while tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, "exactly how much I love you?"_

_Suddenly, his cheeks got extremely hot before she leaned forward, her lips meeting his softly. Her palm cupped his cheek, softly rubbing her thumb._

_He pulled away first, his eyes opening at the sight before him. It made no sense, Nat was just there but now, her place was taken by..._

_... Shadow._


	7. Special 1 Nat's House

Randy knocked bashfully against the maroon door, soon backing away from the door to twist his finger in a nervous lock. Howard, who stood next to the way-too-nervous boy. He then soon opened his mouth, about to say something before the door cracked open, green orbs peering at them.

The eyes bored into them before the door opened, exposing the black-haired boy from before, his left arm wrapped into an inked cast. He used his other hand to stuck a sucker in his mouth as he watched them.

It was quiet between them until a girl, nearly identical to the boy, came up to the boy, slamming her fist hard against his head.

"I know that we told you to _stay in bed_!" She hissed darkly, grabbing his ear and twisting it hard to the right, "Why didn't you _stay in bed_, Alan?"

"Ow, ow! Alex! I was," Alan pried her fingers off his ear, "I was in bed but then I heard, ow, knocking and no one was getting the door! Stop babying me!"

"I have to baby you," his twin, apparently Alex, exclaimed, finally letting go of his ear, "because I'm your older sister!" She then turned, retreating some different part of the house. Alan mocked her silently, finally turning to them.

"Who are you and how'd you get this address?" His blunt question and strong glare was enough for them to shiver, trying to hide behind each other. _The Walker family is scary..._

"W-We're friends of N-Nat, H-Howard and R-Randy," the taller boy of the duo stuttered, trying to avoid the older boy's green glare, "and I-I live a-across the street."

A smirk curled onto Alan's lips, showing how amused he was. "So _you're_ Randy! Nat is constantly going on about her huge cru-!"

"What are you doing out of bed?"

The trio of boys turned towards the voice, surprised to see Nat standing there with a bag filled with cake ingredients and sweets (more specifically chocolate and candy hearts). The black-haired boy groaned at the way the conversation had turned.

"I'm done with this family," he declared, "and I'm going to bed." She raised an eyebrow before shrugging, heading inside of the house.

"You guys can come in," she said with a smile causing them to follow her in, "Is mom home?" She shouted, going into the kitchen and setting the bag down, before dropping her purse.

She turned onto them, her eyes confused but she kept her smile. "So what exactly do I owe the pleasure?"

"Happy Valentine's Day," they chimed together causing her smile to grow slightly wider. She opened her mouth to say something but she was cut by another voice.

"Hi, honey!"

A woman with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes entered the room, walking over to Nat and kissing her temple before moving over to Howard and Randy, doing the same thing. "Aw, sweetie, when did you get shorter?"

"That's not Alex, mom," Nat turned, going to organize the items she bought. Her mom peered down at Howard, suddenly pulling away.

"I'm sorry about that..."

"Howard," Nat interjected before gesturing towards the taller boy, "and Randy." She tooked a bar of McChocolate and unwrapped it and bit into it, chewing slowly.

"Oh, well I have a job interview, " she went to the fridge, pulling out a paper bag that was probably her lunch and twirled, "how do I look?"

Nat took a bite of her chocolate, "Old and desperate," she responded blankly before smiling, "you look professional and determined, ready to take on anything."

"Glad you think so," her mother returned, "remember, no getting hyper on 'Forever-Alone-Food'." Nat nodded, taking another bite.

"I'll try but no promises."

"And no boys in the house past five, unless they're Alan, of course," she continued, "I'll be leaving now. Alex is in charge."

She hummed as she waved off her mother before turning to her two friends. "Thanks, you two," her eyes brightened, "I have something to give you something. Follow me!"

Nat exited the kitchen, heading you up the stairs before opening a purple-painted door and entering a blue and purple room.

She got down on her knees, digging an arm under her bed before she pulled out a box labeled "Unwanted" and started digging into it.

"Two copies of _Grave Puncher: Monkeys, Zombies, and Fists_ and the Brock Octane featured McFist pad." She laid each item down in their respected pile for each respected boy before shoving the box back under her bed.

"You didn't have to do this..."

"Yeah! Free stuff!"

She smiled lightly, rubbing her dusty hands off of her jeans. "Eh, it's fine. My uncle is Hannibal McFist so I usually get free stuff like this all the time."

_I might have feelings for the niece of my worst enemy_, Randy thought, _the irony..._ "T-Thanks," he blushed darkly at the thought of his own crush on her and started to avoid her gaze, "f-for the stuff." He glanced over at Howard, who was tapping on the McFist pad.

He elbowed the redhead, causing him to flinch, mumbling under his breath. "Y-Yeah, thanks, Nat." She nodded , standing up and clapping her hand to get rid of the rest of the dust.

She pinched her earlobe, giving him a smile and soon he was reminded of the habits of one of his friend, Diamond, who had moved away when he was younger.

"Randy," her voice broke him out of his thought, pulling him back into the present as she peered at his face, "want to help me makes some 'Single's Chocolate Cake'?" She took another bite of her chocolate, raising an eyebrow when he blushed.

He nodded, carefully grabbing her outstretched hand with his own. "Sure," he said carefully, "I'll help you make some cake."

"Thanks," she smiled at him carefully, pulling him down the stairs.

_Once again_, he thought, _I wouldn't mind dating her._


End file.
